The Movement Festival has been filling the ears and hearts of EDM enthusiasts with noteworthy music and memorable sets for 13 years. And although it might’ve seemed unlikely, this year they outdid themselves with their extensively diverse lineup. It’s no secret that Detroit is considered the birthplace of Techno, and loads of it there was, but this time around the Paxahau team decided to open the barriers and incorporate more non-techno genres and fresh faces than usual. Over 100 top-notch acts were booked to play at the three-day festival in Hart Plaza, Detroit, and with so much talent to choose from, it was difficult to catch any one set in it’s entirety (unlike last year where the Visionquest boys held me hostage at the Made in Detroit Stage for a blissful four hours)!
Jumping from one stage to the next, consistently in search of those DJs whose sets have the power to captivate your mind, body and soul, I found myself overwhelmed with options and musically malnourished. And being someone with a severe case of A.D.D. (Attention Deficit Disorder) and F.O.M.O. (fear of missing out), you can image the rat race it became. It felt like I was playing one long game of “musical [stages]“, if you will. But despite of the madness, there were still those handful of sets that I was glad I didn’t miss – and that we hope you didn’t miss either!
Our top five sets we hope you didn’t miss at Movement 2012:
5. dOP – Beatport Stage
Frenchmen Van de Sande, Clement Zemstov, and Jonathan Illel make up the sensational group, dOP. The trio was one of the few live acts that were scheduled to play at the festival, and they delivered an amazing show. With only an analog synthesizer, a keyboard, and an MC, the boys had the Beatport stage in a frenzy with their high energy techno tunes and raw vocals. It was my first time seeing them and it was definitely a treat!
4. Danny Daze – Red Bull Music Academy Stage
mybeatFix watched with pride as fellow Miami native Danny Daze took the Red Bull Music Academy Stage by storm Monday afternoon. Dropping everything from proper electro, techno, deep house and more including Sepher’s “Apple Bottoms” and pal Maceo Plex’s unreleased track “Future music,” his set was diverse, uplifting, and a plain old up good time. Not to mention that his technical skills are by far some of the best in the scene right now. It might’ve been his first time playing at Movement Festival, but he definitely proved that he can hang with the big boys of techno.
3. Todd Terje – Main Stage
Todd Terje played a magnificently warm sunset set fully equipped with disco-tech grooves at the the Main Stage Saturday afternoon, including a tribute to Donna Summer where Terje dropped “Hot Stuff.” It was the perfect way to start the festival, as he left everyone in an elated state, ready to plunge into the torrential techno that would ensue the following 2 days in Detroit.
2. Claude VonStroke – Beaport Stage
San Francisco’s Claude VonStroke closed out the Beatport Stage on Sunday night with a powerful bass-infused set. Opening up with his remix of French Fries “Yo Vogue”, he had the crowd getting down instantly, booty-tech style. His track “Who’s Afraid of Detroit?” and a dark and dirty remix of Michelle Weeks’ classic house jam “The Light” were amongst the many crowd pleasers for the evening. The energy was contagious and everyone was embracing it. Dirty Bird booty-bass in yo face, in the Dirty D. Perfection.
1. Jeff Mills as The Wizard – Main Stage
If you were still standing by Monday night, the only place you should’ve been was the Main Stage for Jeff Mills’ brilliant performance as The Wizard. Mills is a techno pioneer, and he showed it not only with his set, but with his gear as well. Utilizing an array of vinyls, CDJ’s, and a 909 sprawled out before him, the Wiz worked his magic and took the crowd on a caravan through the history of Detroit techno and electro. Starting off with classic jams from the likes of Afrika Bambaataa, Debbie Deb, and Kraftwerk, eventually ending with Plastikman’s “Spastik”, Mills navigated his way through the times, his set evolving in the same manner that techno has. It was a magical ending to an already amazing three-day
weekend in Detroit.
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